fancreationsfandomcom-20200214-history
Ambrose Hill, Avenir
Ambrose Hill is the 31st most populous suburb of Avenir, England. Despite being the city's 3rd smallest subregion, it is its most densely-populated, fourth richest, and fourth most visited as of 2018. Ambrose Hill's deep historic makeup can be ascribed to its modern-day situation and heritage. After over a century of rule from the Bellamy dynasty, a bellicose dukedom which fought countless wars with surrounding territories, Ambrose Hill lost the Great War of the Southern Dukedoms in 1736, leading to the collapse of the Ambrose Hill duchy in addition to its unification with the other former dukedoms under the name of Avenir. Across its long, topographic profile Ambrose Hill is scattered with ruins of old fortifications, a testament to the warrior culture of the Bellamy dynasty. Since the 1860s, Ambrose Hill has undergone mass gentrification and transformation from a Tudor town to a sprawling modern metropolis. Never redeveloped under the banner of Alfred Blithebeth, who totally rebuilt much of Blithebeth and Kingstanding Town, most of Ambrose Hill's splendid Art Nouveau buildings are built on old Tudor town plans, encouraging high population density with huge buildings implanted on narrow roads. Ambrose Green, Avenir split from Ambrose Hill in 1756, when Blossom Hill officially marked the end of a 20-year occupation in the area. While the two are part of the same political constituency and Catholic commonwealth, they are officially classified as different suburbs by the City Council. History Middle Ages With the foundation of Blossom Hill and its surrounding potable lands, Ambrose Hill began developing in the 1400s, as a heavily agricultural Tudor town. In 1440, the town, which was then part of Blossom Hill, earned its name after the Cathedral of St. Ambrose Barlow was built in the southern bank of Ambrose Hill. Commissioned by the Catholics in England at the time, the town became heavily pious and under Catholic influence. Many of Ambrose Hill's descendants were Irish. Religious troubles with Blossom Hill During the 1534 Church of England reforms, Ambrose Hill resisted most of the changes. Blossom Hill, however, did not; this, in addition to invasions from the Buccleugh dukedom, created extreme tensions between Ambrose Hill and Blossom Hill. Religiously iconoclastic, two brothers, Ignatius and Lucas Bellamy, the former becoming the first duke of Blossom Hill, the latter of Ambrose Hill, both despised each other. As both were notable barons, the Buccleugh dukedom imposed its system on its northern protectorates, and the two brothers became quickly popular as potential dukes. Early troubles in addition to religious differences started an animosity between both entities, although the duchy of Buccleugh sought to keep either in shape. Later years and Collapse of the Dukedom Ambrose Hill's bad sentiments with Blossom Hill would continue for nearly 200 years. Constant lost battles eventually lead to infighting in Ambrose Hill. The duchy nearly ended in 1671; however, the duke clung onto power after his near-usurpers were poisoned and killed. By this point, however, Ambrose Hill was severely diminished. The entire area of the Southern Dukedoms was ravaged by plagues and famines after agriculture was failing due to over-farming and over-fishing. The English Civil War also accelerated the collapse. Avenir fell in three years to a Parliamentarian invasion. Dukedoms were forced to defend in unison and their loss only worsened their bonds. Ambrose Hill, the main fortress, was totally destroyed in June 1645, where it also fell and the city was captured. Despite all other efforts in defence, remaining forces were flanked and eventually encircled around Midtown Blossom Hill, leading to the bloodiest battle in Avenirian history, wherein 8,000 or so people were killed combined, mostly Royalist infantry. In a depleted and weakened state, Ambrose Hill was quickly annexed by Laving Hill in a temporary combined dukedom. As Laving Hill was unaffected by the war, the amalgamation was met by positive results, improving relations between both dukedoms. The hereditary line was still in power, but in exchange for help, Laving Hill sanctioned the Ambrose Hill armies and prevented feuds. Ambrose Hill would break off by 1701, and by 1724 its dukedom had returned in full force, and rapidly it rearmed under Arcanum Bellamy, who reignited warrior culture in Ambrose Hill. Quickly realising the power of Ambrose Hill, the dukedom was backed by Laving Hill and Fishmarket. However, at the same time, Blossom Hill underwent a total constitutionalisation and revamp of its political system, ousting its duke from power under a true political banner. Despite a favourable start Fishmarket's failure to make gains in east Blossom Hill and Laving Hill's fast surrender meant Ambrose Hill struggled in the war. Laving Hill was reluctant to start the war in the first place, and with Blossom Hill occupying the northern section, its duke abdicated, ending its dukedom and ultimately its place in the war. By 1732, Buccleugh secretly plead allegiance to Blossom Hill, out of a newfound distaste for the dukedom system, which was abolished in Buccleugh the same year. This meant Blossom Hill could transport troops to the south and encircle Ambrose Hill by flank. Both Fishmarket and Ambrose Hill were damaged heavily in this time. Witnessing its affects, Fishmarket surrendered in 1735. Under Arcanum Bellamy, Ambrose Hill would inherently never surrender, and was essentially driven to the ground by 1736 where its bloody leader was finally killed in battle and the Cathedral of Ambrose Hill fell. The area was ravaged. Ambrose Hill would be occupied by Blossom Hill for 20 years, until 1756. With the dukedoms of Buccleugh, Laving Hill, and Blossom Hill all forced out by the war, Pralcotte, Rumensholme, and Fishmarket duchies all followed suit and, in a joint revolution, either by force or diplomacy, forced their duke out of power. The areas would unite under the joint banner of Avenir in 1736. By the end of occupation in 1756, Ambrose Hill's lands were heavily divided and diminished; 2/3 of it would become Ambrose Green, a new suburb, and most strongholds would be forfeited to Blossom Hill out of fear anything could happen again. The surviving Bellamy family was infamously executed, rather controversially, since many family members never engaged nor endorsed the actions of Arcanum Bellamy. Ashfield would also be formed out of lands from Ambrose Hill as well as Laving Hill, and Blithebeth, neutral throughout the war, would claim small spikes of land, hence its current, very elaborate borders. Statute of the Union At the end of the 20-year occupation, during which Ambrose Hill was fully-sovereign Blossom Hill territory, the Statute of the Union would be signed, on September 1, 1756, during which the future of Avenir would be decided. Ambrose Hill would regain independence, although completely diminished from its former borders, losing all of its acquired territory, the Ambrose Hill Satellite (now Burbury), and most of its lands south of the Cathedral. Moreover, East Blossom Hill and Ambrose Green would be fully sovereign to Blossom Hill, making Ambrose Hill completely surrounded by Blossom Hill as an economic benefit to the former adversary, and also lest Pro-Duchy sentiments could arise with former ally Fishmarket, which was cut off therefrom. Reparations in the form of menial labour would ensue until the 1790s from Ambrose Hill men. As Avenir After 1756, Blossom Hill marked the end of a 20-year occupation in Ambrose Hill. The terms of freedom outlined the split of Ambrose Hill into the greater Ashfield and Ambrose Green area, as well as Laving Hill and Blossom Hill receiving Ambrose Hill lands. Blossom Hill bunkers, used in the war as well as to scout for potential uprisings in the ever-uproarious area, were finally demolished. Life returned to normal. Most of Ambrose Hill was ravaged in the war, and after 1756, rebuilding began. Around the High Street area, a new grid plan was adopted for a commercialised area; south of the River Avon and north of the High Street, original Tudor plans were retained, optimising population density for a small area. By 1780, Ambrose Hill reached 30,000 residents, though this total pales in comparison to its population of 1720, of 76,000. 19th century and Industrial Revolution Ambrose Hill was heavily industrialised in the Industrial Revolution. An historically working-class area, many factories were constructed within a kilometre of its vicinity with Fishmarket. However, this same vicinity also caused a division in Ambrose Hill; Fishmarket quickly became the most industrialised suburb in all of Britain. Extremely cheap land lead to an unprecedented surge in factories, and to house these wealthy factory owners they would need homes in and around the Fishmarket area. Thus, most of north Ambrose Hill became a maze of mansions housing this wealthy demographic. This created a dynamism between the traditional communities and the newer, richer ones; and with an ever-rising figure of factory-owners in Avenir, by 1880, most of Ambrose Hill's working class had migrated north or east. Investment in Ambrose Hill reached a high in 1883, perhaps spelling the "Golden Age" of Ambrose Hill. Wealth was at its zenith, and so was its culture, architecture, and communities. This massive change in half a century, however, was at the major expense of the City Council. With factory building still on the rise, the council was struggling; in 1822, it passed an act which designated the provision of funds to businesses which provided jobs to 1,000 or more people. However, it could never be properly dissolved, as Avenir's Member of Parliament constitution meant these appeals were usually quashed by an overwhelmingly-wealthy membership. This meant that areas like Avenir Forest and Phyllistown in the north suffered out of lack of development and money from the council. Nonetheless, areas like Ambrose Hill benefitted the most; with so many rich landowners, the council's interest in the area never waned. In 1912, Ambrose Hill reached its population peak of 61,412 residents. Immigration With so much cheap labour in the area, Ambrose Hill was an immigration hotspot until the 1880s, when most labourers left the area. Many colonialists resided in Ambrose Hill; and upon returning home, they brought hundreds of Asian workers, mostly from British India or Burmese descent. While most of this demographic left by the 1880s, some stayed as servants or workers in the factories in the east. This immigration profile is still apparent in Ambrose Hill today. Its second largest ethnic group is Indian, at 16% of Ambrose Hill's total population. Burmese peoples compose another 4% of the population. Post-War Ambrose Hill A vicinity with Fishmarket also spelt immense change in Ambrose Hill during the 30-Day Blitz, which ravaged Fishmarket as well as its immediate vicinity. Eastern Ambrose Hill was around 30% destroyed and, while much of it was rebuildable, the Ambrose Hill sewage system faced irreparable damage, meaning parts of the area had unflushable toilets for the width of the war. Bomb damaged buildings that were beyond repair usually became excrement pits, causing a great stink around central Ambrose Hill. Many historic buildings were damaged by Luftwaffe; Saint Dunstan's Chapel, a 270 year-old former bunker used in the Great War of the Southern Dukedoms, was burned and suffered extreme damage. Saint Ambrose Barlow's Cathedral was also burned by incendiary bombs and, on January 9, 1941, a shell detonated at the rear of the structure, destroying a stained glass window and archway. After 1945, Ambrose Hill has seen retention and modernisation. Areas such as Harper's Heath, a former grassland area surrounding the mansion of John Harper, was completely bought out and is now occupied by office highrises. Economically, Ambrose Hill has benefited immensely from the Post-War; its financial areas such as the aforementioned Harper's Heath have seen another phase of economic growth, retaining its business owner profile from the pre-War. Demographics Political Ambrose Hill is one of two Labour majority suburbs of Avenir, the rest being overwhelmingly Conservative or, in the case of Stovold Heath, UKIP, the other being Colombo. Much of Ambrose Hill's population is working class and, while house prices are extremely high, this spike is a recent occurrence; between 1950 and 1990 many of Ambrose Hill's terraced houses for wealthy became befit for family use, and many old mansions were partitioned into apartment and lodge property. Moreover, Ambrose Hill's population typically identifies more with that of Generation X as opposed to the baby boomer generation. As such, Ambrose Hill has many younger people, many of whom earn in the highest percentile of wages. Category:Avenir